The present invention relates to a bracelet comprising a plurality of articulated elements in which the two transverse edges of an element are interlocked in the transverse edges of respective adjacent elements, transverse passageways passing at least partially through the respective adjacent interlocked portions in order to form bearings in which articulation members are engaged and are held at the two ends of the said respective transverse passageways. This invention also relates to a use of this bracelet.
The arrangement of annular seals of the O-ring type on articulation members such as shafts connecting the links of a bracelet, in particular a watch bracelet, is known as attested by EP 0 165 206. However, in this document, the annular seals do not participate in the articulation but only in the attachment of articulation pins to the assembled links which are articulated with one another by these pins which are used both as members for the connection and articulation of the links. The object of this document is to produce a simple, reliable and low-cost assembly. Production does not therefore have to demand high precision, the installation and the removal must be easy and the hold of each pin must be reliable despite the movements, impacts and vibrations to which the bracelet may be subjected. To satisfy this specification, the pins have a groove in which a seal (such as for example an O-ring) is housed close to each of their ends situated inside the edge links.
FR 1 595 305 also proposes the use of O-rings on pegs designed to be inserted into bores. According to this document, it is advisable to be able to easily insert the peg into the bore while its extraction from the bore must be made difficult. Accordingly, the end portion of the peg comprises a groove having an inclined wedging surface against which an O-ring rests. The inclined wedging surface is oriented so that, when the peg is assembled into the bore, the O-ring is pushed to the bottom of the groove. In this manner, the insertion of the peg into its bore is easy while removing it is prevented by the inclined surface which compresses the seal between the peg and the bore.
One of the persistent problems in the devices described above, as in all the bracelets of this kind known hitherto, lies in the fact that the articulation pins wear over time. This wear is caused by the friction in the presence of abrasive and/or corrosive substances, such as sweat or sea water, which penetrate between the friction surfaces of the articulations and which progressively eat away at the articulation pins and the surfaces of the bearings. This wear causes looseness in the articulations and this looseness in its turn causes wear of the links.
To remedy this problem, EP 0 243 315 proposes interposing ruby bearings between the links and the articulation shafts. EP 2 057 914 suggests another solution which consists in allowing friction only between materials identified for their compatibility with rubbing against one another with a minimum of wear.
A further drawback associated with the bracelets formed of articulated elements lies in the fact that the small inter-surface impacts allowed by the looseness between these elements causes undesirable clicking.